In the summer, men will often put on too much cologne but they often don't even realize how strong they're coming on to others. WSJ's Ray Smith discusses the art of the summer fragrance on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero. Photo: F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal
When it comes to men's cologne, it seems to be all or nothing. Many men wear none—and many men wear too much.
The results can be overpowering. The problem gets worse in the summer, when some men—particularly young men raised on all-over body sprays such as Axe—feel the need to mask sweaty body odor by spritzing on a little extra fragrance.
Men's fragrances aren't by their nature more overpowering than women's. The concentration of fragrance oil is typically 15% for a women's fragrance, while it is between 8% and 12% for a typical men's fragrance, says Jean-Marc Chaillan, vice president and senior perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances.
But men's fragrances tend to stress darker, warmer wood, spice, or amber "notes," or the aromatic ingredients that comprise a fragrance. There is "not as much emphasis on the freshness," says fragrance designer Raymond Matts, founder of the new perfume company Raymond Matts LLC, and a former Estée Lauder fragrance department vice president. "On a hot humid day when the air is thick, those heavy, dark notes will sit longer in the air," Mr. Matts says.
The fragrance industry is trying to get men to put a little more thought into their scent. Increasingly, designers are launching lighter versions of their colognes for warm weather, often with "summer" in their names.
Summer editions tend to have citrus top notes—the scents that one smells first—or notes that evoke the ocean or the Mediterranean coast, which perfumers consider refreshing. This year's lighter editions include Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche and John Varvatos's Artisan Acqua. Some fragrances, such as Calvin Klein's Eternity for men, get a new summer edition every year. In some years, there are "even more seasonal scents" for men than for women, says Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group.
The industry hopes summer editions will get more men to think about having different colognes for different seasons, occasions and even outfits.
Summer scents are "not as strong, but they are much easier when there is perspiration and warmth," says fragrance developer Ann Gottlieb, who created Calvin Klein's Obsession, ck One, and Christian Dior's J'adore and developed Axe body spray for young men. "If you go to a gym and you're wearing a fragrance, as you perspire, the fragrance starts wafting. ... In those kinds of circumstances, it's easier and more refreshing to smell fresh citrus notes," she says.
More men have been making an effort to smell better. Sales of premium men's fragrances—those sold in more-upscale department stores and boutiques—rose 3.7% to $7.92 billion in 2013, according to Euromonitor International, while women's rose 2.7% to $15.59 billion. Men's sales are expected to grow faster than women's in 2014. In a report from market researcher Mintel, 55% of men said they wear cologne. Men aged 18 to 34 have come of age at a time when male grooming is much more promoted, with putting on fragrance "being one of the things they do," says Ms. Grant of NPD.
Though women, too, can be guilty of spraying on way too much perfume, they have generally had more practice at the art of applying it. Men, by contrast, are relative novices. Some perfumers, including Ms. Gottlieb, cite the influence of Axe, the Unilever deodorant body spray launched in the U.S. in 2002, which is meant to be applied all over the body and has been popular with preteens, teens and young men.
Men have been found to produce more sweat, a fact that may make them more self-conscious about their scent. But that doesn't mean they smell worse. The sweat that can be measured is a watery, heat-induced type that has no smell, says David M. Pariser, a Norfolk, Va.-based dermatologist who is also a founding member of the International Hyperhidrosis Society, a group for people affected by excessive sweating. Both men and women produce odorous sweat, which is oilier and comes from the apocrine sweat glands mainly under the breast, at the groin and at the armpits. The odor of this sweat can intensify during hot weather due to the bacteria and yeast that grow in hot muggy conditions, creating a pungent brew.
Perfumers say people rarely can tell on their own if they have put on too much cologne. "My rule of my thumb is you would want to be maybe a foot in front of the person to smell it," says Ms. Gottlieb. "I don't think any fragrance should enter a room before you do."
"If you get too much 'What perfume have you put on tonight?', well, you know you have too much on!" says Kilian Hennessy, founder of By Kilian, a collection of luxury scents launched in 2007. "On the contrary, if you can't smell your perfume the next day on your scarf or sweater, you probably didn't apply enough. It is balance." In general, the heavier the fragrance, the fewer spritzes are needed, he says. Woodsy or oriental scents, for instance, can be used more sparingly, but it is fine to spray more of a light citrus scent, because citrus notes tend to evaporate quickly.
Mr. Matts, the fragrance designer, recommends that men "spritz" on the neck, a little bit below the neck in the chest area and on the back of the hair. "Hair is a good carrier for fragrance," he said. "The oil sinks into the shaft of the hair."
Mr. Chaillan, who created or helped create fragrances including Calvin Klein's Euphoria for men, Hugo Boss's Baldessarini and Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana, recommends that men not only spritz the wrists, neck and chest but also spray cologne on clothes. "They won't be damaged, and the scent will stay even longer. And your closet is going to smell good too."
Men's fragrances that are intended for summer use may have names or descriptions that use words such as "sport" or "aqua." For instance, John Varvatos's Artisan Acqua, launched earlier this year, doesn't say "summer" on the label. Creator Rodrigo Flores-Roux, a senior perfumer with Givaudan Fine Fragrance Studio NYC, says the concept is to communicate "summer throughout the year." The fragrance, which he described as a "new citrus," combines citrus notes, herbal smells evocative of the Mediterranean coast, and the richer masculine wood notes that characterize other John Varvatos scents.
Mr. Flores-Roux, who advises spraying a little fragrance on a handkerchief and using it to pat your head throughout the day, says the Mediterranean notes include rosemary, lavender, thyme, pine tree, fennel, parsley, mint, basil and pistachio tree resin. Wear it in winter and "you feel like you're being touched by a ray of sun or as if you are traveling on holiday far away and didn't bring your computer with you," he says.
The summer edition of Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male plays with "fresher and lighter notes such as mint and rosemary," says Francis Kurkdjian, who created Le Male. "You could imagine that the original fragrance is a cashmere sweater and the summer edition is a linen sweater, with a paler shade but the exact same cut."
Write to Ray A. Smith at ray.smith@wsj.com